Chelsea Langston

In November, 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s administration sent a letter to Texas-based nonprofit agencies, including faith-based organizations, that serve refugees, ordering them not to “participate in the resettlement” of Syrian displaced persons. Although over 30 state governors have asked the Obama administration to not settle any Syrian refugees in their respective states, Abbott’s mandate to refugee service organizations, prohibiting them from providing services to Syrians, went a step further.

Such a demand not only asked all nonprofit agencies serving refugees in Texas to violate federal law, it also asked faith-based service agencies to abandon their religious convictions to serve all of the needy.

On December 4, Gov. Abbott backed down from a lawsuit Texas had filed against the U.S Government because of the state’s opposition to settling Syrian refugees. Given that states have no legal power over the federal government’s refugee resettlement program, this was a wise decision.

Texas was also wise to reconsider its attempt to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees by faith-based organizations because the state risked further damaging its important ties with groups that provide the social safety net in the state. As a previous eNews for Faith-Based Organizations story noted, the Texas government and faith-based service organizations long considered each other to be allies. The governor’s ban on agencies providing services to all refugees risked “souring longstanding partnerships, and chilling the possibility of forming new ones.” Governor Abbot’s quick reversal on the issue is a first positive step toward repairing trust and rebuilding partnerships with the faith-based and community organizations that are essential to the social health of Texas communities.

Although no other state governor went as far as Texas in demanding that nonprofit and faith-based organizations in their state refuse to provide services to Syrian refugees, more than half of all state governors have made the symbolic announcement that their states will not accept Syrian refugees.

However, this has not cowed faith-based organizations of different faiths in different states, which have instead stated that they will continue to serve in accordance with their faith. For example, although Indiana governor Mike Pence announced that his state’s borders were closed to Syrian refugees, the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis welcomed a Syrian family on December 7. According to Religion News Service, “Pence disagreed with the archdiocese’s action but said he would not block food stamps and other state aid for the family.” Faith-based organizations in Ohio, Georgia, and several other states continue to serve all refugees despite the closed-door rhetoric of their governors.